Food/Groceries

Consumer World Celebrates 30 Years: 1995 - 2025  
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Dial Soap: The Incredible Shrinking Bar

Once upon a time “bath size” bars of soap were all five ounces. Most have now been downsized to 4.5 ounces.

The latest move, however, is to go even smaller. Dial for Men is a prime example.

*MOUSE PRINT:  The 4.5 ounce bar is now 4.0 ounces — over 10% smaller.

dial soap small

OLD                                      NEW

So these three packs are 12 ounces instead of the old 13.5 ounces, but still priced the same.[Click picture to view net weight statement.] 

Downsizing is a sneaky way to pass on a price increase because you are getting less for your money but may not catch the change. As is typical for many downsized products, the manufacturer diverts your attention from the net weight statement to something else “new”. In this case, they are calling it a “new grip bar” because ridges have been carved into it.

I suspect it will still slip out of your hand when wet and sudsy, so wouldn’t you rather have that half-ounce back?

Consumer World Celebrates 30 Years: 1995 - 2025  
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Seattle Coffee Direct: Free Grinder & Coffee?

Seattle Coffee Direct 1“Free” is one of the most powerful words in marketing. And who wouldn’t want to get a free Cuisinart coffee grinder and two bags of coffee?

Anyone who clicks on this offer on the homepage of Seattle Coffee Direct will surely be surprised to see that there is no free lunch.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Seattle Coffee $9

So the offer really is to BUY two 12-ounce bags of coffee for $9 and get a free coffee grinder. And it says you are going to get two bags of coffee MONTHLY. This sounds like the offers that Gevalia has made for years, but they offered a free or reduced price coffeemaker.

If you look at the sign-up page, you really would not have a great idea how this monthly plan works, but you would think that you are only going to pay $9 now. The fact is, you are going to pay nowhere near $9 for the free coffee grinder and two bags of coffee.

*MOUSE PRINT: To spill the beans, you have to read the last words in the above graphic that say “click here for details.” Amongst other “details”, you will find that they are going to tack on a “small” $25 “handling fee” to your order, and your pound and a half of monthly coffee in the future will cost a mere $25 plus a small (unspecified) shipping and handling fee:

Seattle Coffee $25 Shipping

So the offer has morphed from a free grinder and free coffee on this company’s homepage, to $34 for a free grinder and coffee, plus being subscribed to an expensive monthly coffee club.

Incidentally, to top it off, Seattle Coffee is in Evanston, Illinois.

Consumer World Celebrates 30 Years: 1995 - 2025  
Subscribe to free weekly newsletter.

Tide Bonus Bottle: 33% More?

Tide 33% more smallEverybody loves a bargain, so when you see a product on a grocer’s shelf that seems to promise more product for the same money, you are more likely to grab it.

These are called “bonus packs” where you might get an extra four ounces of shampoo, or 20 Brillo pads instead of the usual 16. Bonus packs are typically sold at the item’s regular price, so you are indeed getting something extra free.

This bottle of Tide promises “33% MORE.” But are you really getting one-third more free?  A quick look suggests yes, but a more carefully reading says otherwise.

*MOUSE PRINT: The fine print under the “33% MORE” claim says “ounces than 150 oz.”

In other words, this is not a bonus bottle at all. The big yellow banner is merely giving you an arithmetic lesson saying that this 200 ounce bottle is larger than a 150 ounce bottle by a third.

Thanks P&G for the eye-catching math lesson, but some free product would have been nicer.